Power architecture for an implantable medical device having a non-rechargeable battery

ABSTRACT

An improved architecture for an implantable medical device using a primary battery is disclosed which reduces the circumstances in which the voltage of the primary battery is boosted, and hence reduces the power draw in the implant. The architecture includes a boost converter for selectively boosting the voltage of the primary battery and for supplying that boosted voltage to certain of the circuit blocks, including digital circuitry, analog circuitry, and memory. However, the boost converter is only used to boost the battery voltage when its magnitude is below a threshold; if above the threshold, the battery voltage is passed to the circuit blocks without boosting. Additionally, some circuitry capable of operation even at low battery voltages—including the telemetry tank circuitry and the compliance voltage generator—receives the battery voltage directly without boosting, and without regard to the current magnitude of the battery voltage.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/597,250, filed Feb. 10, 2012, which is incorporated herein byreference and to which priority is claimed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to implantable medical devices,and more particularly to improved architectures for an implantablemedical device having a primary battery.

BACKGROUND

Implantable neurostimulator devices are devices that generate anddeliver electrical stimuli to body nerves and tissues for the therapy ofvarious biological disorders, such as pacemakers to treat cardiacarrhythmia, defibrillators to treat cardiac fibrillation, cochlearstimulators to treat deafness, retinal stimulators to treat blindness,muscle stimulators to produce coordinated limb movement, spinal cordstimulators to treat chronic pain, cortical and deep brain stimulatorsto treat motor and psychological disorders, and other neural stimulatorsto treat urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, shoulder subluxation, etc.The description that follows will generally focus on the use of theinvention within a Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) system, such as thatdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,227. However, the present invention mayfind applicability in any implantable medical device.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a SCS system typically includes anImplantable Pulse Generator (IPG) 100, which includes a biocompatibledevice case 30 formed of a conductive material such as titanium forexample. The case 30 typically holds the circuitry of the IPG and abattery to provide power to the circuitry. Depending on the particularneeds and circumstances of the patient who will be using the IPG, thebattery can be either rechargeable or a non-rechargeable primarybattery. The IPG 100 includes one or more electrode arrays (two sucharrays 102 and 104 are shown), each containing several electrodes 106.The electrodes 106 are carried on a flexible body 108, which also housesthe individual electrode leads 112 and 114 coupled to each electrode. Inthe illustrated embodiment, there are eight electrodes on array 102,labeled E₁-E₈, and eight electrodes on array 104, labeled E₉-E₁₆,although the number of arrays and electrodes is application specific andtherefore can vary. The arrays 102, 104 couple to the IPG 100 using leadconnectors 38 a and 38 b, which are fixed in a non-conductive headermaterial 36, which can comprise an epoxy for example.

As shown in FIG. 2, the IPG 100 typically includes an electronicsubstrate assembly including a printed circuit board (PCB) 16, alongwith various electronic components 20, such as microprocessors,integrated circuits, and capacitors mounted to the PCB 16. Some of theseelectronic components 20 are discussed further below. A telemetry coil13 (more generally, an antenna) is generally present in the IPG 100 totransmit/receive data to/from an external controller 80. The telemetrycoil 13 is typically mounted within the header 36 of the IPG 100 asshown, and may be wrapped around a ferrite core 13′. In otherembodiments, the telemetry coil 13 may be within the case 30. In an IPGhaving a rechargeable battery, such as the IPG 100, a charging coil 18is also present for charging or recharging the IPG's battery using anexternal charger 82.

As just noted, an external controller 80, such as a hand-held programmeror a clinician's programmer, is used to wirelessly send data to andreceive data from the IPG 100. For example, the external controller 80can send programming data to the IPG 100 to dictate the therapy the IPG100 will provide to the patient. Also, the external controller 80 canact as a receiver of data from the IPG 100, such as various datareporting on the IPG's status. The external controller 80, like the IPG100, also contains a PCB 70 on which electronic components 72 are placedto control operation of the external controller 80. A user interface 74similar to that used for a computer, cell phone, or other hand heldelectronic device, and including touchable buttons and a display forexample, allows a patient or clinician to operate the externalcontroller 80. The communication of data to and from the externalcontroller 80 is enabled by a coil (antenna) 17, which communicates withcoil 13 in the IPG 100.

The external charger 82, also typically a hand-held device, is used towirelessly convey power to the IPG 100, which power can be used torecharge the IPG's battery if it is rechargeable. The transfer of powerfrom the external charger 82 is enabled by a coil (antenna) 17′, whichgenerates power received by coil 18 in the IPG 100. The external charger82 is depicted as having a similar construction to the externalcontroller 80, but in reality they will differ in accordance with theirfunctionalities as one skilled in the art will appreciate.

FIG. 3 illustrates an architecture for an IPG 100 that uses arechargeable battery 26. Shown with particular emphasis in FIG. 3 arethe various power supplies in the IPG 100, which are the focus of thisdisclosure and which are shown with thicker lines. Only a few othernon-power supply signals are shown in FIG. 3 to the extent they arediscussed below, and such signals are shown with thinner lines. Oneskilled in the art will appreciate that the IPG 100 contains many such“regular” signal lines, which are not shown for convenience.

Rechargeable battery 26 typically comprises a Lithium ion polymerbattery, and depending on its level of depletion can have a batteryvoltage, Vbat, of about 3.2 to 4.2 Volts. The IPG 100 includes a batteryinterface circuit 32, which acts as an intermediary between the chargingcoil 18 and the rechargeable battery 26. The battery interface circuit32 contains circuitry for rectifying power received at the charging coil18 from the external charger 82 (FIG. 2) and for charging therechargeable battery 26 in a controlled fashion. Power from therechargeable battery 26 is routed through controllable switchingcircuitry in the battery interface circuit 32 and supplied to the restof the circuitry in the IPG 100 as voltage, Vbat′. The magnitude ofVbat′ is essentially the same as Vbat, minus a small voltage drop thatoccurs across the switching circuitry in the battery interface circuit32. Examples of battery interface circuitry 32 can be found in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 61/509,701, filed Jul. 20, 2011.

The battery interface circuit 32 supplies the voltage Vbat′ to variouscircuit elements in the IPG 100 via voltage regulators 40, 42, and 44.The regulators 40, 42, and 44 are used to regulate Vbat′ to power supplyvoltages VDDA, VDDD, and VDDF appropriate to power the circuit elementsto which they are connected, i.e., analog circuitry 50, digitalcircuitry 52, and memory 54 respectively. The regulators 40, 42, and 44can comprise low power, low drop out linear regulators that use verylittle power, which is particularly useful in a battery poweredimplanted medical device as it conserves power. Linear regulators arealso advantageous because they create less noise than switchingregulators.

Although the magnitude of the power supply voltages VDDD, VDDA, VDDFneeded for each of circuitries 50, 52, and 54 may be the same, eachcircuitry is preferably supplied power by its own voltage regulator. Theanalog circuitry 50 and the digital circuitry 52 preferably haveseparate regulators 40 and 42 because the digital circuitry 52 createsnoise on VDDD as it switches, which noise could potentially affect theperformance of the analog circuitry 50. Memory 50 preferably has its ownregulator 44 because the memory 50 may consume a large amount ofcurrent, which VDDF must supply. Additionally, VDDF can be shut downfrom time to time to save power.

Analog circuitry 50 contains a number of low voltage analog circuitryelements within the IPG 100 that are powered by power supply VDDA,including thermistors, band gap voltage references, oscillators andclocks, modulation and demodulation circuitry that send data to andreceives data from the tank circuitry 24 coupled to the telemetry coil13, analog measurement and routing circuitry, and the like. VDDA in oneexample may comprise 2.8 Volts.

Digital circuitry 52 comprises the digital circuits in the IPG 100 thatare powered by power supply VDDD, including microcontroller 60 andtiming circuitry 66. VDDD in one example may comprise 2.8 Volts. Digitalcircuitry 52 can be integrated, at least in part, on a single mixed-modeASIC integrated circuit with at least some of the analog circuitry 50,as shown for example in U.S. Patent Publication 2008/0319497, or can bediscrete therefrom.

Memory 54, which is powered by power supply VDDF, can hold the operatingsoftware for the system (e.g., for the microcontroller 60), and can alsoact as a free space to store data, such as logged data to be reported tothe external controller 80 for analysis and/or feedback to the patient.Memory 54 can also store data transmitted from the external controller80, such as the therapy setting referred to earlier, which data can inturn be sent to the microcontroller 60. Memory 54 may be any type ofmemory, such as Flash EPROM, random access memory (RAM), static RAM(SRAM), a hard drive, or the like. However, to ensure data retentioneven when power is lost, memory 54 often comprises a Flash EPROM memory.Because a Flash EPROM can require additional current to both program anderase, VDDF is typically provided by a higher-powered regulator 44, asmentioned previously. VDDF in one example may comprise 2.8 Volts.

Rechargeable battery 26 also provides the power necessary to sendtherapeutic current pulses through particular stimulating electrodes106. This is done by producing a compliance voltage, V+, using a DC-DCconverter 22. Converter 22, like regulators 40, 42, and 44, creates avoltage (V+) from Vbat′, which is used to power one or moreDigital-to-Analog Converters (DAC) 33 to produce the therapeuticcurrent, Iout. The compliance voltage V+ in effect comprises the powersupply for the DAC(s) 33. The magnitude of the therapeutic current,Iout, produced by the DAC(s) 33 is specified by digital signals 61. Ioutis output to a particular electrode 106 of the IPG 100, which may beselected, where it passes through the tissue, R 25, of the patient.(Another electrode 106′ can provide a return path, or reference, forIout).

Because the therapeutic current can vary from time to time, thecompliance voltage V+ necessary to produce this current can vary aswell, and thus V+ can be changed by the converter 22. As explained inU.S. Patent Publication 2007/0097719, V+ monitor and adjust circuitry 19can measure the voltage at the electrode 106 when the DAC 33 is issuingthe therapeutic current, and can inform the converter 22 of a value forV+, V+(opt), that is optimal to supply that current. As explained in the'719 Publication, if V+ is too low, the DAC 33 will become “loaded” andunable to provide the desired current, Iout. If V+ is too high, the DAC33 will be able to provide the desired current, but power will bewasted: some portion of the compliance voltage V+ will be dropped acrossthe DAC 33 without any useful effect. As also disclosed in the '719Publication, the converter 22 can comprise a capacitor-based changepump, an inductor-based step-up converter, or combination of these. V+may be set by the converter 22 in one example from anywhere between 3 to18 Volts.

Tank circuitry 24, which is coupled to the telemetry coil 13, is alsopowered by Vbat′. As shown in U.S. Patent Publication U.S. 2009/0069869for example, tank circuitry 24 can comprise a tuning capacitor whichoperates in conjunction with the inductance of the coil 13 to set itsresonant frequency, and can further include transistors controlled bymodulation circuitry (part of the analog circuitry 50) to switch thetank at the resonant frequency when the coil 13 is transmitting. Whenreceiving data, the tank circuitry 24 is instead coupled to demodulationcircuitry (which may also include part of the analog circuitry 50).

Although many IPGs use rechargeable batteries, there are situations inwhich use of a primary battery may be advantageous. A primary battery isone in which the electrochemical reaction is not reversible by passing acharging current therethrough, thus rendering the batterynon-rechargeable. Primary batteries use up the materials in one or bothof their electrodes and thus have a limited life span.

Primary batteries, however, are typically cheaper than rechargeablebatteries, and may not suffer from the same reliability concerns. Assuch, the use of primary batteries in a medical implantable device ispreferred when appropriate, for example, when the expected life of theprimary battery would be expected to exceed the patient's lifeexpectancy, or in situations where patients with physical or mentallimitations would have difficulty charging the battery. Using a primarybattery in an implantable medical device also simplifies design, inparticular because a charging coil 18 is not necessary.

FIG. 4 illustrates an architecture for an IPG 400 using a primarybattery 12, which may for example be a Lithium CFx battery or SVO hybridwith CFx having a voltage, Vbat, of 1.2 to 3.2 Volts. As shown, many ofthe circuit elements and connections in IPG 400 are the same as thoseused in the rechargeable-battery IPG 100 of FIG. 3. Such similar aspectsare not again discussed.

A significant difference in the primary-battery architecture of FIG. 4is the use of a boost converter 64 in lieu of battery interface circuit32 to supply various circuit blocks with power from the primary battery12. As its name implies, the boost converter 64 boosts the batteryvoltage, Vbat, to a higher magnitude, Vbat+, suitable for use by thecircuit blocks to which it is connected—the regulators 40, 42, 44, theDC-DC converter 22, and the tank circuitry 24 coupled to the telemetrycoil 13. Vbat+ in this example may be 3.2 V or so. Such boosting isnecessary because of the relatively low voltage of the primary battery12 relative to the rechargeable battery 26. If not boosted, Vbat wouldbe too low to enable the regulators 40, 42, and 44 to produce powersupply voltages VDDD, VDDA, and VDDF of the desired magnitudes (again,about 2.8V). Boost converter 64, like the DC-DC converter 22, cancomprise a capacitor-based change pump, an inductor-based step-upconverter, or combination of these.

Unfortunately, using a boost converter 64 to boost the voltage suppliedto the circuit elements in IPG 400 is inefficient, because such boostingitself takes power from the primary battery 12. Efficiency isparticularly important in an implantable medical device with a primarybattery, because the primary battery cannot be recharged.

Accordingly, implantable medical devices, and more specificallyimplantable stimulator devices, would benefit from improvedarchitectures that use primary batteries, and embodiments of such asolution are provided herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B show an implantable pulse generator (IPG), and themanner in which an electrode array is coupled to the IPG in accordancewith the prior art.

FIG. 2 illustrates an IPG, an external controller, and an externalcharger in accordance with the prior art.

FIG. 3 illustrates aspects of an IPG power architecture using arechargeable battery in accordance with the prior art.

FIG. 4 illustrates aspects of an IPG power architecture using a primarybattery in accordance with the prior art.

FIG. 5 illustrates aspects of an improved IPG power architecture using aprimary battery.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An improved architecture for an implantable medical device using aprimary battery is disclosed which reduces the circumstances in whichthe voltage of the primary battery is boosted, and hence reduces thepower draw in the implant. The architecture includes a boost converterfor selectively boosting the voltage of the primary battery and forsupplying that boosted voltage to certain of the circuit blocks,including digital circuitry, analog circuitry, and memory. However, theboost converter is only used to boost the battery voltage when itsmagnitude is below a threshold; if above the threshold, the batteryvoltage is passed to the circuit blocks without boosting. Additionally,some circuitry capable of operation even at low batteryvoltages—including the telemetry tank circuitry and the compliancevoltage generator—receives the battery voltage directly withoutboosting, and without regard to the current magnitude of the batteryvoltage.

FIG. 5 illustrates the improved architecture for an IPG 500 using aprimary battery 12, which may be similar to primary batteries discussedearlier with reference to FIG. 4. Once again, many of the circuitelements and connections in IPG 500 are the same as those used in therechargeable-battery IPG 100 of FIG. 3, and the primary-battery IPG 400of FIG. 4. Such similar aspects are not again discussed.

As with the primary-battery architecture of IPG 400 in FIG. 4, IPG 500comprises a boost converter 64 to potentially boost the voltage of theprimary battery 12, Vbat, to a higher voltage, Vbat+, necessary to powerthe various circuits. However, two differences are apparent.

First, the boost converter 64 is controlled by a switch 76, which switchis set depending on Vbat's relationship to a threshold, Vt. If Vbat isgreater than or equal to the threshold, the switch 76 is set to routeVbat directly to as the input power supply 88 to first circuitry 81which includes the regulators 40, 42, and 44 that produce the powersupply voltages VDDD, VDDA, and VDDF for the analog circuitry 50, thedigital circuitry 52, and the memory 54 respectively. If Vbat is lessthan Vt, the switch 76 routes Vbat to the input 28 of the boostconverter 64, thus allowing the boost converter 64 to supply a highervoltage, Vbat+, as the input power supply 88 to the first circuitry 81and thus to the regulators 40, 42, and 44. Although not shown, the boostconverter 64 can also be selectively enabled only when Vbat<Vt so thatit does not attempt to boost when the switch 76 does not route Vbat toit. Such enable signal to the boost converter can comprise the samesignal used to control the switch 76, or an inverse of that signal.

The value of the threshold Vt can be set in accordance with a minimumvoltage required by the regulators 40, 42, and 44 to operate, and inaccordance with the expected range of voltages of the primary battery,Vbat, which as noted earlier can range from 1.2 to 3.2V. For example, ifthese regulators must produce power supplies VDDD, VDDA and VDDF equalto 2.8V, then Vt may be set to a slightly higher voltage of 2.9V. Thus,if 2.9<Vbat<3.2, switch 76 will send Vbat directly to the firstcircuitry 81 without boosting. The regulators can then drop this voltageto appropriate power supply levels. If 1.2<Vbat<2.9, then switch 76 willsend Vbat to the boost converter 64, where it can be boosted to Vbat+,which again may comprise 3.2V or so. The regulators can again drop thisboosted voltage Vbat+ to appropriate power supply levels. Using thisscheme, and in distinction to the architecture of FIG. 4, the batteryvoltage, Vbat, is not always boosted before being sent to theregulators, and instead is only boosted when Vbat has dropped below thethreshold. Because voltage boosting requires power, selective enablementof the boost converter 64 in this fashion saves power in the IPG 500compared to prior approaches.

Although not shown, determining the relevant magnitudes of Vbat and Vtand producing an appropriate control signal for the switch 76 can beaccomplished in several different ways. Vbat can be digitized at anAnalog-to-Digital (A/D) converter and digitally compared to Vt at thedigital circuitry 52 to issue an appropriate digital control signal forthe switch 76. Alternatively, a comparator comprising part of analogcircuitry 50 can receive Vbat and Vt in analog form, which comparatorcan then issue the digital control signal for the switch 76. Switch 76can comprise a single transistor, or more-complicated switchingcircuitry.

In a second difference with the primary-battery architecture of FIG. 4,notice that second circuitry 84—including the telemetry tank circuitry24 and the DC-DC converter 22 that generates the compliance voltage,V+—receives the battery voltage Vbat directly without boosting from theboost converter 64. This is in recognition that these circuits canoperate satisfactorily even at very low levels for Vbat, and thereforethat it is unnecessary to expend power boosting the input power supply86 of those circuits to higher levels. For example, the DC-DC converter22 already contains circuitry to boost its input voltage, i.e., to V+ asnecessary to power the DAC(s) 33, and such boosting circuitry within theconverter 22 does not require any particular magnitude of the inputvoltage to function. Tank circuitry 24 can also perform satisfactorilyat low levels of Vbat. If Vbat drops to low levels, the strength oftransmission of wireless signals from the coil 13 to the externalcontroller 80 (FIG. 2) will be reduced accordingly. However, even ifwireless transmissions from the IPG 500 have a reduced signal strength,they will still be capable of receipt at the external controller 80,although perhaps from a smaller distance. In any event, not powering theDC-DC converter 22 and tank circuitry 24 from boost converter 64 onceagain reduces reliance on the converter 64, which saves power in the IPG500. Because boost converter 64 is operated in only particular, narrowercircumstances, and is used only to power the regulators 40, 42, and 44,the converter 64 need not supply an output Vbat+ with as high of acurrent capacity.

The architecture of IPG 500 of FIG. 5 results in significant powersavings when compared with the architecture of IPG 400 of FIG. 4, whichas noted earlier is important in an implantable medical device that usesa primary, non-rechargeable battery. The boost converter 64 operates atan efficiency of about 70%, whereas the regulators 40, 42, and 44operate at efficiencies at about 90% when reducing the input powersupply 88 to form lower power supply voltages VDDA, VDDD, and VDDF.Therefore, when Vbat≧Vt, it is more efficient to allow the regulators toscale down the input power supply voltage 88 than to use the boostconverter 64 to provide this voltage.

Although particular embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, it should be understood that the above discussion is notintended to limit the present invention to these embodiments. It will beobvious to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention. Thus, the present invention is intended to coveralternatives, modifications, and equivalents that may fall within thespirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. Circuitry for an implantable medical device,comprising: a non-rechargeable battery outputting a battery voltage;boosting circuitry for boosting the battery voltage to a boostedvoltage; a threshold voltage set to a constant value; comparatorcircuitry configured to determine if the battery voltage is greater thanor equal to the threshold voltage and configured to determine if thebattery voltage is less than the threshold voltage; first circuitrypowered by the battery voltage when the comparator circuitry determinesthat the battery voltage is greater than or equal to the thresholdvoltage, and by the boosted voltage when the comparator circuitrydetermines that the battery voltage is less than the threshold voltage;second circuitry comprising a DC-DC converter, wherein the secondcircuitry is only powered by the battery voltage; and at least oneDigital-to-Analog converter, wherein the DC-DC converter produces acompliance voltage to power the at least one Digital-to-Analogconverter, wherein the Digital-to-Analog converter is configured toprovide current to at least one electrode for contacting a patient'stissue.
 2. The circuitry of claim 1, wherein the first circuitrycomprises one or more regulators.
 3. The circuitry of claim 2, furthercomprising circuit elements, wherein each of the one or more regulatorssupplies a constant voltage to power at least one of the circuitelements.
 4. The circuitry of claim 3, wherein one of the circuitelements is an analog circuit.
 5. The circuitry of claim 3, wherein oneof the circuit elements is a digital circuit.
 6. The circuitry of claim3, wherein one of the circuit elements is a memory.
 7. The circuitry ofclaim 1, wherein the threshold voltage is a minimum voltage needed forthe first circuitry to operate properly.
 8. The circuitry of claim 1,further comprising a switch, wherein the switch is controllable by thecomparator circuitry to provide the battery voltage to the firstcircuitry when the battery voltage is greater than or equal to thethreshold voltage, and the switch is controllable to provide the boostedvoltage to the first circuitry when the battery voltage is less than thethreshold voltage.
 9. The circuitry of claim 1, wherein the secondcircuitry comprises tank circuitry coupled to a telemetry antenna. 10.The circuitry of claim 1, further comprising a single integratedcircuit, wherein the first and second circuitry are integrated on thesingle integrated circuit.
 11. Circuitry for an implantable medicaldevice, comprising: a non-rechargeable battery outputting a batteryvoltage; boosting circuitry having an input and an output, the boostingcircuitry for converting a voltage at the input to a higher voltage atthe output; first circuitry comprising a first input power supply,wherein the first input power supply is connected to the output of theboosting circuitry; a threshold voltage set to a constant value;comparator circuitry configured to determine if the battery voltage isgreater than or equal to the threshold voltage and configured todetermine if the battery voltage is less than the threshold voltage; aswitch, wherein the switch is controllable by the comparator circuitryto route the battery voltage to the first input power supply when thebattery voltage is greater than or equal to the threshold voltage, andto route the battery voltage to the input of the boosting circuitry whenthe battery voltage is less than the threshold voltage; and secondcircuitry comprising a second input power supply, wherein the secondinput power supply is connected to the battery voltage.
 12. Thecircuitry of claim 11, wherein the first circuitry comprises one or moreregulators.
 13. The circuitry of claim 12, further comprising one ormore of an analog circuitry, a digital circuitry, or a memory, whereinthe one or more regulators supply a constant voltage to power one ormore of the analog circuitry, a digital circuitry, or the memory. 14.The circuitry of claim 11, wherein the second circuitry comprises aDC-DC converter.
 15. The circuitry of claim 14, further comprising atleast one Digital-to-Analog converter, wherein the DC-DC converterproduces a compliance voltage to power the at least oneDigital-to-Analog converter, wherein the Digital-to-Analog converter isconfigured to provide current to at least one electrode for contacting apatient's tissue.
 16. The circuitry of claim 11, wherein the secondcircuitry comprises tank circuitry coupled to a telemetry antenna. 17.The circuitry of claim 11, wherein the threshold voltage is a minimumvoltage needed for the first circuitry to operate properly.
 18. Thecircuitry of claim 11, further comprising a single integrated circuit,wherein the first and second circuitry are integrated on the singleintegrated circuit.